Pull tabs for container ends are used on various types of containers, including beer and beverage containers, food containers, and many other types of containers for household or industrial use. The most prevalent type of pull-tab container ends is the retained-tab end, which have a tab designed to remain on the container end after the container is opened, such as with beer and beverage metal containers. The typical beverage cans used today have a non-detachable tab, called the “ecology tab” because of the fact that the predecessor types of tabs were removed when the container was opened and were causing pollution concerns.
The typical non-detachable tabs used in the beverage container industry are of generally the same design. These tabs have a nose portion, a lift end portion, separated by a central body portion that has an aperture provided for securing the tab to the end by a rivet. The tab is manufactured separately from the end, and is secured to the end such that the nose is positioned over the scoreline of the end. When the tab is lifted at the lift end by the user, the nose of the tab is pushed down on the end panel to fracture the score and open the container. The rivet, therefore, acts as a fulcrum for the rotation of the tab, and a central hinge area of the tab bends adjacent the rivet across a hinge line of the tab.
A problem with the non-detachable tabs is the inability for the user to access the lift end due to the limited distance between the lift end and the central panel of the can end. This inaccessibility is compounded by the reduction of the area of the central panel as the can end diameter is reduced to lower metal cost. The spacing between the lift end and the central panel must be sufficient to allow the user to frictionally engage the tab while providing an upward force to initiate movement of the tab nose downward to fracture the score and open the container.